


Edith and the Kiss

by angryessays



Series: Adventures of Thomas Barrow [5]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Don't worry no gays were harmed in the making of this fic, F/M, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 08:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13876737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryessays/pseuds/angryessays
Summary: Edith wants to let it go for once, and it goes about as well as you would expect.





	Edith and the Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ficklefernweh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficklefernweh/gifts).



He looked so suave with his new hairstyle. He really was looking more refined with each passing day, clearly the best looking male servant. She could still remember the way his hand felt on her back when they danced at the servant’s ball. It was gentle and reserved, not grasping and sweaty like Alfred’s, or unsure like Tom’s.

Edith surreptitiously watched Thomas— _er, Mr. Barrow_ , pouring the wine at dinner. Letting her mind wander, she imagined what it would be like to take the path Sybil had, without the tragedy of course. If only he were less professional, she was sure they would be drawn to each other like moths to the flame. She was torn from her deliberations by everyone else’s laughter at some joke Mary had told. Why were her sisters allowed to flout the rules when Edith could barely pry praise from anyone for the highest of accomplishments? Why couldn’t she misbehave once in a while? She resolved to be a little braver from now on. She downed her glass of wine as inconspicuously as possible, but who would notice her anyway?

 

Sufficiently light-headed and with whipped-up confidence, Edith stalked down the servant’s stairs in the dark. She had overheard Mr. Barrow telling James that he would be shining shoes late that night; why he would be tasked with such a duty, she didn’t know. Sure enough, the dark-haired specimen was in the servant’s hall, alone and reading the paper with a cigarette dangling from between two fingers. Edith watched him from the shadows, trying to calm her nervous heart. Of course she couldn’t be as brazen as Sybil or Rose, or as cocksure as Mary. Her gaze followed the delicate softness of his hands, his smooth brow seemingly never aging. She caught glimpses of his perfect face when he dropped one side of the paper to take a drag from his cigarette. She realized suddenly that he was, in fact, reading _her_ _magazine_. This pushed her over the edge. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and took a step toward him. Before her left foot could leave the ground behind her, she was startled by a door opening. Mr. Barrow looked up and to his left at the person intruding on their moment, who turned out to be James. Instead of looking impassive, Mr. Barrow seemed pleased to see him. He smiled a brilliant smile, and Edith couldn’t take her eyes off it. She retreated a few steps to observe; perhaps he would go on upstairs and they could be alone again.

Of course he planted himself right at Mr. Barrow’s side, _of course_. But he kept getting closer, and closer, and closer—so close he was practically in his lap. What was happening? Edith nearly fainted when their lips met, James’s hand pulling Mr. Barrow’s chin up, his thumb brushing against his jaw the way Edith longed to do for so, so long. Recoiling in shock, disgust, and heartbreak, Edith turned and stomped up the stairs to her bedroom to cry herself to sleep over her inevitable spinsterhood.

**Author's Note:**

> It's rated teen because I used the word "cocksure."
> 
> Edit: a word


End file.
